Conrad Broussard of St. James Plantation is Troon’s 2013 Superintendent of the Year

Conrad Broussard, Director of Agronomy at St. James Plantation, has been named 2013 Superintendent of the Year by Troon, the global leader in golf course management, development and marketing.

Conrad Broussard

Broussard received the award at Troon’s annual Leadership Conference, held last month at Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, AZ. Troon has managed club and golf operations at St. James since 2005.

At St. James, Broussard is responsible for the upkeep and grooming of 81 holes of golf, 15 miles of fairways, 10 acres of true-rolling greens, 300 sand traps, 250 acres of protected wetlands and more than 70 score-wrecking water hazards.

“Year-in and year-out, our courses rank with the best on the Carolina Coast in terms of conditioning and playability,” said Alan Deck, the community’s general manager. “Conrad deserves the lion’s share of the credit for that.

“Most superintendents only have 18 holes to take care of. Conrad’s got 81 He might be the hardest-working man in golf,” Deck said.

Keeping 81 holes in mint condition keeps Broussard running, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I’d probably be bored to tears if I had to go back to just an 18-hole course,” Broussard said.

He joined the St. James team in 1997 after earning a degree in turf management from Horry County Community College in Myrtle Beach. He assumed his present position when Troon Golf took over golf operations 10 years later.

Golf has been a major driver of the success of the 6,000-acre golf and marina community near Southport, which has been the number one selling community on the Carolina Coast for 22 straight years.

It features four courses by four different designers – The Reserve by the Nicklaus Design Group, The Members Club by Hale Irwin, The Founders Club by P.B. Dye and The Players Club by Tim Cate.
All told, the four courses generate close to 170,000 rounds a year – more than any other private golf community in North Carolina.

“The challenge of doing that many rounds and keeping all four courses in great condition all year around, I don’t know how he does it,” says Dave Kjome, director of golf at St. James Plantation. “He has to have a magic wand.”

Broussard grew up in West Texas dreaming of a career on the PGA Tour. He was good enough to play on the Texas Tech golf team, but after a few rounds with Steve Elkington, he realized he lacked the game to play professionally.

He and his wife Tanya moved to Southport in the mid-1990s. They’ve been married 20 years and have two young children – Oliver and Emily.